An interview with Ned Overend: Just another year

Ned Overend doesn't know how to retire. Although mountain biking's inaugural World Champion quit in 1996 at the age of 41, he immediately joined the fledgling XTERRA off-road triathlon circuit and scooped up a couple of their World Championships before retiring again in 2003. And even with a second chance at the easy life, Overend couldn't let elite-level competition go. Cyclingnews' Steve Medcroft caught up with this man of perpetual motion to talk about life at 50.

Overend explains, "Racing is the most exciting thing I do. When you're in a race and you're mixing it up, even if you're not at the front and you're mixing it up with a group of guys in the middle of the pack, you're still pushing yourself; on the climbs, on the downhills, in a variety of situations. The excitement and personal satisfaction that comes when you push yourself that way still motivates me."

That thrill of competition motivated Overend enough in 2005 alone that, on the eve of his 50th birthday and at a time when he could be playing bocce ball and chasing early-bird specials, he's been seen on almost a dozen start lines. Including one in Angel Fire, New Mexico (July 9-10, 2005) for the first UCI World Cup cross country race on US soil in three years, a race in which he managed to place 18th.